Tip of the Glacier: The History of Perfume and Essential Oils

After reviewing the history and concept of Pacifica Perfumes, Lavaculture has pursued a brief overview of the history of perfumery to get some idea of its origins. 

The history of perfume and aromatherapy is wide and large but its roots can be found in Egypt. Egypt as we all know is associated with beauty, rituals, queens, and ancient recipes. The word "perfume" is latin for "through smoke." Perfume consists of a mixture of essential oils, aroma compounds (a chemical compound that has a smell or odor), fixatives (used to stabilize the volatile components of perfume), and solvents in order to make a pleasant scent. Egyptian women applied creams and perfumed ointments to their skin infused with aromatic herbs. They used perfume to adorn their bodies before lovemaking, for toiletries, and cosmetic purposes. 

Although perfume began with resins, water flower essences, and potpourri, it was further refined and perfected by its spread to the Romans and Arabs. The three most famous personalities who made substantial discoveries to the developments of the perfume industry are: Jabir ibn Hayyan, Al-Kindi, and Avicenna. 

Jabir ibn Hayyan was born in Iraq and developed many techniques such as: distillation, evaporation and filtration. This allowed the odour of plants to be collected in the form of water, or oil. Although Jabir ibn Hayyan made these physical contributions to the purfume industry and considered one of its founders, the real founder is Al-Kindi. 

Al-Kindi carried out extensive research and experiments with the combination of various plants and other sources in order to produce a variety of scent products. Al-Kindi is also famous for the book he wrote in the 9th century on perfumes titled: Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations.

Avicenna was a Persian physician, philosopher, and chemist amongst many of the other sciences. Although Avicenna wasn't one of the founders of the perfume industry, he introduced the process of distillation. Distillation is a process by which  oils are extracted from from flowers, the process most commonly used today. Until Avicenna made this discovery, lquid perfumes were mixtures of oil, and crushed herbs, or petals. 

A very important fact to know about essential oils is that their effectiveness lies in the speed at which they are absorbed by the skin. Essential oils have many benefits other than olfactory. According to Pure Inside Out, an alternative health site focusing on essential oils, essential oil fragrances activate the nerve cells in the nasal cavity and send impulses to the limbic system, the part of the brain associated with emotions and memory.

It describes that the best way to understand the potency of essential oils is to look into their frequency. Bruce Tainio, who built the first frequency monitor in the world in 1992 determined that the average frequency of the healthy human body in the daytime ranges from 62 to 72 Hz. When the frequency drops, the immune system is jeopordized, and this can be caused by many factors in our environment such as pollutants, canned and processed foods, which have a frequency of zero—the following quote illustrates how essential oils fit into this study:

"Fresh produce has up to 15 Hz, dried herbs from 12 to 22 Hz, and fresh herbs from 20 to 27 Hz. Essential oils start at a frequency of 52 Hz and can go up as high as 320 Hz, as in the Turkish rose oil. Clinical research shows that essential oils have the highest frequency of any natural substance known to man. They create a condition where bacteria, virus, fungus and disease simply cannot survive" (Essential Oils, Pure Inside Out). Watch the following video to see practical applications and benefits of the use of essential oils in your every day life.